"next" = 'unusual, extraordinary'

[Benjamin Zimmer]

Anyone familiar with this sense of "next"?

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http://freedarko.blogspot.com/2006/05/strength-begat-mind.html
Not only is LeBron most likely going to make any shot he takes-- he'll
find a way of taking exactly the shot he wants. And he's so next at
this point that it might end up being some shit that, for anyone else,
would be a wildly contingent move of a lifetime.
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First entry for "next" in Urban Dictionary is:

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1) Weird, out of place, odd, different
2) Confusing, nonsensical
Always said with emphasis, perhaps derived from something along the
lines of "This is stupid...next!"

1) "What you goin' out with her for, man? She's NEXT, yo"
2) "Yo, guy, this math problem is NEXT"
by Nadia Jul 9, 2004
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A couple of other Urban Dictionary entries suggest a more positive
reading for "next" -- not simply 'unusual' but 'unusually good'.


--Ben Zimmer

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